Lil Wayne Now Owns Young Money Entirely, Talks ‘Tha Carter V’ & More

Lil Wayne has a recording artist since he was a boy and now approaching the age 36, he has done just about everything there is to do within the recording industry. Now back in full control of his Young Money music imprint, the Lousiana artist revealed the long path to releasing his long-awaited Tha Carter Valbum and much more.

In a sit down with Billboard, the artist born Dwayne Michael Carter shared some insight about his creative process and isn’t putting too much pressure on himself as it relates to Tha Carter V. As it stands, Weezy F. Baby has finally settled into his status in the game but also approaches his craft with a measured sense of carefulness. A lot is riding on his upcoming album, which is anticipated to drop this year.

In the chat, Wayne dropped several thoughts, such as being inspired by his four children as he and his former business partner and father figure Bryan “Birdman” Williams engaged in a years-long legal battle while trying to patch up their longstanding connection damaged by their fallout. While he said that he and Birdman do speak, mostly about sports, he’s keeping his distance as he focuses on tightening up his album.

From Billboard:

Wayne and Birdman are back to talking every day, usually about the Red Sox. But Wayne is less trusting and focused on his album. “Not even just with him, but my relationships with a lot of people have become different, just because of how different I work now,” he says. “I’m submerged in everything about myself, trying to be better at who I am. It’s something where you have to cut some things off.”

Four months ago, Wayne moved into this new space, with the skate park and ESPN playing on mute around the clock in the recording studio. Soon after, he injured his heel, which kept him off his board for a month and forced him into the studio full time. It was, he says, “God telling me, ‘You have to go to work, bro.’”

After experiencing a series of widely reported seizures between 2013 and 2017, Wayne has cut his marathon recording sessions from what he says were 26-hour runs down to “12 or 14” hours. “That’s the main thing that friends and family and the doc and all them recommend,” he says. “Just get you some rest.”